SC to hear plea against NGT order restricting number of people in Ganapati idol immersion group

The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Thursday a plea against a National Green Tribunal order restricting the number of persons to 30 who can be part of a ‘dhol-tasha’ group involved in an idol immersion of Lord Ganesh.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of a lawyer who asked how could the number of people be restricted.

“They said a ‘dhol-tasha’ group can have only 30 people. The urgency is that ‘Ganapati visarjan’ is coming up,” the lawyer said.

“Send an email and the papers, we will take it up at 2 pm,” the CJI said.

In a bid to control noise pollution, the NGT has restricted the number of people in a musical group for Ganapati immersion to 30.

The festival of ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ began on September 7 and this is celebrated for 10-11 days.

‘Dhol-tasha’ groups have been an integral part of traditional festivals in some parts of Maharashtra.